First of all I am keeping this coaching staff together. I full transition is going to take 3 offseasons if done right, and I think after this offseason we should be able to see the light at the end of the tunnel. I think the Dolphins are approximately 10 players away from being contenders, the important part is finding the right 10 players as well as keeping the strengths of the team in tact.

Resignings (Disclaimer, I am not great with contracts)
Randy Starks- 4 Years, 30 Million
Starks has proven to be one of the best DT in the NFL, and to be a great team you cannot let those kind of players walk away. Keeping Starks and Soliai allows for the Dolphins to have a top DL over the next 4-5 years.

Brian Hartline- 3 Years, 14 Million
Proven player, earned a contract and has consistently improved. He has proven to be a great fit for the system and a big part of Ryan Tannehill's success.

Sean Smith- 4 years, 38 Million
I know this is going to ruffle some feathers, but you do not develop a player for 4 seasons and see the light at the end of the tunnel, and then let that player walk away and shine elsewhere. The difficult part is he is going to demand top dollar, and he will get it elsewhere. My offseason splurge is right here to keep Smith in Miami.

Reggie Bush- 3 years 9 million
The market will not be great for Reggie Bush, and as has been pointed out he lives a certain lifestyle that flourishes in Miami. Bush likes to be in Miami, and I think the growth of the younger backs will push him more to be a weapon in the passing game that gets 12-15 touches per game.

Why did I decide to let Jake Long walk...
I explore the possibility of a tag and trade, and noone bit. Long is going to continue his career, but due to his injuries it may be only as a RT. I cannot commit to him, as he didn't meet my requests for out clauses after years 2 and 3 of my proposal.

Free Agency
Greg Jennings WR 5 years 48 million
I don't see him getting resigned in GB due to the plethora of weapons and lack of funds. He fits in Miami as he is in nearly an identical system that he is in GB. Jennings, Hartline, and Bess are all accomplished route runners and will excel in tandem. The offensive overhaul is not yet complete, though this is a great start.

Robert Geathers DE 2 years 7 million
Geathers gets an opportunity to compete for a starting position opposite Cameron Wake and at worst as a situational pass rusher. Played for Coyle in Cincinnati

Phillip Wheeler OLB 3 years 12 million
Wheeler is one of the games best pass defenders at the TE position, and will help with covering the TE. He isn't the strongest run defender, but will play in tandem with Misi and also be able to play in the nickel package.

DRAFT
**TRADE** The Dolphins have traded Jared Odrick to the Redskins for a 4th round draft pick.
Why? Odrick has been a solid player, but he is a square peg in a round hole. I decide to cut my losses and pickup what I can for him.

1. Eric Reid S LSU
Reid is the biggest playmaker in the draft on the defensive side. It's time we stop skirting the issue and address the safety position in the draft. Clemons is a solid player, but that's all he is. I add a potential superstar to play alongside Reshad Jones.

2A. Lane Johnson OT Oklahoma
Against my will I let Jake Long walk, and I found a replacement early in the draft. Johnson plays in a pass heavy offense and keeps Landry Jones clean. I trust him to keep my franchise passer clean.

2B. Cornelius Carradine DE FSU
Often known as the "other FSU DE," though he has proven capable with 9 sacks this season. Combined with Wake, Geathers, and Vernon I am confident in my pass rush in order to fix this defense.

3A. Logan Ryan CB Rutgers
For a team with offensive holes, I keep adding talent to my defense. I like this young player, he has tools, and can step in immediately to help out in the nickel package.

3B. Cobi Hamilton WR Arkansas
Good sized WR, and can provide the offense with the ability to attack in the redzone. He is the 4th WR but has the potential to be a real player in this scheme.

4A. Hugh Thornton OG Illinois
Ladies and Gents, you can find starting caliber OG in the 4th round. Many starters in the interior are found in rounds 3-5, and this guy has a chance to push Richie Incognito from day 1. I think he can take his job.

4B. Markus Wheaton WR Oregon State
Projected to run in the 4.4's, we find our field stretch guy here.

5. Latavius Murray RB UCF
Many compare his running style to Adrian Peterson. 6'3 220 pound running back that can receive, run with power, has breakaway speed, and most importantly can block.

Roster evaluation: I like the progress we made. Offensively we are hoping one of the bottom 3 WR step up and take hold of that 4th spot, though ideally Clay, Egnew, Bush, or even Thigpen can step up and prove to be worthy of that role. Up front we are relying on our young guys, but we feel that they can help us more than having Incognito holding up the left side. We will schematically cover up their shortcomings early on. Marcus Thigpen is going to get a chance to have small offensive package to make use of his talents, and Reggie Bush is going to see extended time moving around the offense.

On defense we love what we have. Reid is finally the playmaker we need, and also is excellent in coverage. We feel that our secondary is going to be elite, especially if Logan Ryan can step up early on and help us in the back end. Vernon and Carradine is going to be a battle to watch on the DL for the RDE spot, and Geathers is also a capable rusher. We made a serious effort to help our problems with TE coverage by adding Wheeler to replace Misi against top TE and aide in the nickel. Reid also will help against teams like NE who have 2 TE._________________

Overall, I like it. A few little things that I wouldn't mind, my only issue is Robert Geathers who I don't like at all. I'm making my own mock right now and I got us going DT in FA. We need a replacement for McDaniels too considering he plays half the time for Soliai. Would be fixed if you didn't trade Odrick, just my two cents.

We need WRs and this is the deepest draft class of WRs that's been around in a long time. Why would we spend $50M on a guy who's just hit the peak of his career with another team?

We're definitely going to get a WR from this draft. We need receiving options as much as any team in the NFL and this is the perfect draft to attack that weakness. You just can't do a mock without tipping your cap to that fact. It would be crazy to spend the money in FA you're talking about when the draft is right there with nearly a dozen viable options that no one's complaining about.

I appreciate Jennings. I really do. But you have to see the forest for the trees here, don't you agree?

#2

If Sean Smith gets that contract, it'll be from another team. I certainly hope no one within this organization would be willing to give him that much. $9.5M per year? I'd consider him overpaid if we were talking 2/3's of that price.

#3

You can't trade Odrick. He's a 1st round pick with size, athleticism and a half-way decent ability to both stuff the run and rush the passer. He's not elite, no, but at least he can pressure the pocket. The guy we need to let go of is Soliai. Soliai is a prototypical 34 Nose who eats up space and takes away the up-the-middle running lanes for the opponent. We don't play a 34, we don't need Soliai. Odrick is a more valuable commodity to us and certainly we'd be shooting ourselves in the foot by keeping Soliai and sending Odrick away. And for a 4th rounder? Yeah, that's probably what we'd get but do we want to do that?

Shoot, you must be crazy!

The rest of it, I'm not unhappy with. Reid's an interesting 1st overall selection. A lot of people will have us going WR but we could pick up 2 WRs in the 2nd & 3rd rounds to make up for not getting Allen, Hunter or Woods I suppose. Still, you have to consider that offense is going to dominate this draft. It's hard to think that when 75% of our draft is going to be offensely-minded and that our primary concern on defense is pass rush that we'd start by picking a defensive player for our secondary.

To me, that just doesn't seem likely. We'd probably take a WR, DE or even a TE like Eifert before we took Eric Reid. He would be a real luxury pick for us considering we don't need an elite FS to begin with in our defense especially considering we're not even competent at those 3 positions I listed above.

The WR position really isn't that good this year, this is one of the weakest drafts all around in a LONG time. I have seen many scouting outlets saying this is one of the weaker classes lately. Really none of the WR in this class are that impressive to me, there might be 1 I would take in the first round. The rest of them are meh or don't fit the system.

I traded Odrick because quite frankly he has no position in a 4-3. I like what I saw from Kheeston Randall in the beginning of the year and he earned a bigger role. The only way Odrick has value to this team is if we let Starks walk. Odrick is very good in a 3-4 would be a good 4-3 DT. Paul Soliai is the most important player on the defense. He is the guy that keys the run defense, most teams cannot move him. No one player can move him, and he penetrates. He isn't the stereotypical 4-3 DT, but he has been pretty dominant this season. He is Pat Williams to Starks' Kevin Williams.

I knew Sean Smith would ruffle some feathers, but quite frankly that is the contract he is going to get from the Miami Dolphins, or damn close. Good CB's get paid._________________